Library

Search

Home / Romance / A Man in Distress / Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

All Chapters of A Man in Distress: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

80 Chapters

41

CHAPTER 41 — LianaI wasn’t looking for it.That’s the part that still haunts me.I wasn’t searching for answers. I wasn’t trying to dig into Rina’s past or reopen wounds that had barely begun to scar over. I was just cleaning. Just trying to make the house breathe again.Her house.The air still smelled faintly of lavender and old paper, like she might walk back in at any moment and scold me for touching her things.“Don’t move that, Li,” she used to say. “I’ll organize it later.”Later never came.I was in the small storage room near the back of the house, kneeling on the floor, sorting through boxes labeled in Rina’s neat handwriting—Bills, Medical, Maya, Misc.My chest tightened at the last one.Misc.“Okay,” I muttered to myself. “Just… one box.”The cardboard creaked as I opened it. Inside were loose papers, old notebooks, envelopes, and a faded blue journal tucked beneath a stack of receipts.The moment I touched it, something in my chest shifted.It was worn. Soft at the edges

42

CHAPTER 42 — LianaI didn’t sleep.I lay on Rina’s bed with the diary pressed against my chest, staring at the ceiling where the paint cracked faintly near the corners. I used to lie here with her when we were younger, whispering secrets into the dark, pretending adulthood was something we could outrun.I never imagined I’d be here like this—grieving her in pieces.The house was silent except for the occasional hum of passing cars outside. Evan had gone home after sitting with me for hours, neither of us knowing how to exist in the same space without reopening wounds.But the diary was still here.And it was still unfinished.I turned on the lamp and opened it again, my fingers hesitating before touching the next page.Some days I watch Evan with Maya and feel like an intruder in my own life.My throat tightened.He’s a good father. He tries so hard. But sometimes I see guilt in his eyes—like he’s trying to make up for something he doesn’t know how to name.I swallowed.I don’t think

43

CHAPTER 43 — LianaI thought I was done crying.I was wrong.The diary stayed with me like a pulse I couldn’t ignore. Even after leaving Evan’s house, even after driving in silence with the radio off, even after locking myself inside my apartment and sitting on the floor with my back against the door.There were still pages left.And something in my chest told me they were the ones that mattered most.I waited until night fell again.I needed the quiet. The kind that doesn’t interrupt grief, only listens to it.I opened the diary carefully, like it might bleed if I wasn’t gentle.I don’t have much time.My stomach dropped.The doctor says the stress isn’t helping. I laughed when he said that. As if grief waits for permission.My fingers curled into the paper.I keep thinking about Maya. About what she’ll remember. About whether she’ll ever know how much

44

CHAPTER 44 — LianaI stayed the night.Not in the way that would make the world cruel or suspicious. Not in the way that crossed a line you can never uncross.I stayed because neither of us knew how to be alone with the truth yet.Evan slept on the couch. I slept in the guest room. The diary lay between us on the coffee table like a silent witness, its presence heavier than any accusation.Morning crept in slowly, pale and hesitant, as if even the sun wasn’t sure it was welcome here.I woke before my alarm, my body stiff, my head throbbing with everything I hadn’t said.For a moment—just a moment—I forgot where I was.Then the weight returned.Rina is gone.Maya is hers.Evan is standing too close to a truth neither of us planned to face.I sat up slowly, my feet touching the cold floor.The house was quiet except for the faint sound of movement from the kitchen.

45

CHAPTER 45 — LianaI knew something was coming.Not because Ethan said anything outright. Not because he changed the way he spoke to me or looked at me.But because he stopped filling the silence.For weeks, Ethan had been the steady rhythm beneath everything—the one who explained without condescension, defended without spectacle, stood beside me without asking for anything in return. He noticed things but never demanded answers. He offered space without disappearing.And then one afternoon, he asked me to stay late.Not for a case.Not for strategy.Just… to talk.“Don’t worry,” he said lightly when I hesitated. “No ambush. No bad news. I promise.”I almost laughed.Almost.The office emptied slowly around us. Chairs rolled back. Laptops shut. The city outside the windows shifted into dusk, the skyline bleeding orange and gray.I stayed at my desk, pre

46

CHAPTER 46 — LianaEthan didn’t disappear.That would’ve been easier.Instead, he stayed exactly where he was—same office, same meetings, same measured professionalism—but the space he left behind felt louder than absence ever could.The next morning, he greeted me like nothing had happened.“Good morning, Liana,” he said evenly as he passed my desk. “Marcus wants the deposition notes by ten.”That was it.No lingering look.No quiet check-in.No warmth threaded beneath the words.Just… distance.I stared at my screen for a full minute after he walked away, the cursor blinking like it was waiting for me to say something I couldn’t.By noon, I realized something worse than heartbreak had settled in.I missed him.Not romantically—not in the way people assume—but in the way you miss gravity when it suddenly stops holding you down.A

47

CHAPTER 47 — LianaThe pressure didn’t arrive all at once.It crept in quietly—like a hand tightening around my ribs, slow enough that I almost convinced myself I could breathe through it.Almost.Monday morning, the firm buzzed with the kind of energy that meant something had gone wrong somewhere important.Phones rang too sharply. Voices dropped when I walked past. And Marcus—Marcus was smiling.That was how I knew.“Liana,” he called from his office. “Come in.”I took a breath before stepping inside.He didn’t gesture for me to sit. He never did when he wanted control.“Close the door,” he said.I did.He leaned back in his chair, studying me like a puzzle he already knew how to solve.“You’ve been the topic of conversation lately,” he said casually.I kept my face neutral. “I didn’t realize my work was so interesting.”“Oh, it’s no

48

CHAPTER 48 — LianaI didn’t sleep.I lay in bed staring at the ceiling while the city breathed outside my window—cars passing, distant sirens, the low hum of a world that kept moving even as mine felt suspended over a cliff.Ethan’s words replayed over and over.I’ll take the fall.The idea lodged in my chest like a splinter I couldn’t dig out. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him standing in his office, shoulders squared, already bracing for impact. Not dramatic. Not heroic. Just… resolved.And that terrified me more than Marcus ever could.By six in the morning, I gave up pretending to rest.I showered, dressed, and stared at my reflection longer than necessary. I looked the same—composed, professional, controlled—but underneath, everything felt dangerously fragile.I arrived at the firm earlier than usual.Too early.The halls were quiet, lights dimmed, the polished

49

CHAPTER 49 — LianaGrief has a strange way of disguising itself.Some days, it feels like rage—sharp, sudden, demanding somewhere to land. Other days, it wears the mask of numbness, convincing you that you’re fine while hollowing you out from the inside. And then there are the quiet days. The most dangerous ones. The days when everything looks normal enough that you almost believe the storm has passed.Monday was one of those days.I woke before my alarm, stared at the pale light leaking through my curtains, and felt… steady. Too steady. My chest didn’t ache. My head didn’t throb with regret or longing. For a brief, treacherous moment, I thought maybe I’d reached the other side of whatever this was.That illusion lasted until I stepped into Delgado & Reyes.The firm hadn’t changed. But I had.People smiled at me more now. Complimented my work openly. Asked for my opinion in meetings without hesitation. My

50

CHAPTER 50 — LianaTruth doesn’t arrive like a revelation.It arrives like exhaustion.The kind that settles into your bones and whispers that you can’t keep pretending—not to others, not to yourself.Monday morning, I stood in front of my closet for ten minutes, staring at clothes I’d worn a hundred times before, and realized something small but terrifying.I didn’t know who I was dressing for anymore.Not the firm. Not the press. Not Evan. Not Ethan.Just… me.I chose a simple navy dress. No armor. No statement.When I arrived at Delgado & Reyes, the energy felt different. Not hostile. Not warm. Watchful.Marcus was already in his office, door open.That alone felt like a warning.“Liana,” he said. “Come in.”I did.He gestured to the chair this time.Progress, I supposed.“You’ve become very visible,” Marcus said, folding h

PREV

...

NEXT

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

DMCA.com Protection Status